Custodianship across Generations: Preserving the Practice of Vinyl Record Manufacturing

Abstract

Drawing on a global, longitudinal case study of the vinyl record manufacturing practice following a global decline in sales, we examine the work undertaken to preserve it over time. Our process model of practice preservation highlights that a declining practice may persist across generations if it is made more accessible and resilient by reducing its dependence on specific types of meanings, materials, and competences that risk being lost. Our analysis suggests that these outcomes depend on the work of two types of custodians—legacy professionals and new enthusiasts—in terms of “diversifying” the practice to accommodate multiple configurations of meanings, materials, and competences, thus constituting new practice variants, as well as supporting the continued enactment of variants over time by engaging in processes we label “propping up,” “recovering,” “replenishing,” and “releasing.” In addition to developing a rich understanding of preservation, our findings contribute to a nuanced perspective on practice evolution by conceptualizing a practice as comprising multiple, potentially fluid variants. Moreover, by highlighting inclusive custodianship processes, which differ from gatekeeping and guarding so far emphasized, and by unpacking the role of materials to complement the traditional emphasis on symbolic elements, our findings enrich the nascent custodianship literature.